Chapter 58, just like I promised :)

By the way, I've been having problems with the editing on word, so if you see a spelling mistake or an error, comment below so I can fix it. I usually dont mispell words, but if I do, it would be awesome if you can tell me. It's hard to do spell check with 450 pages worth of a story, haha. (since there is a lot of made up words and such.)

Chapter Fifty-eight—The Hunter

         

Bell and Nikki did not speak to me about what I had just heard. We walked home in silence, while I took a bit of food from the fridge and went to the attic to eat it alone. Bell and Nikki were left to explain what happened and what... Will happen. My death.

          Perhaps I was overreacting, and it was talking about another daughter. I just wasn’t sure. I honestly believe that I already thought I was going to die, so therefore I believe what the Oracle said.

          After being told I may die, I then realized how much I wanted to live. I wanted to breathe and to walk and to be social. To never leave the people I love, no matter what.

          After hearing the prophecy, for some reason I didnt really want to think about it. Just to push away the stress and the possible death for a minute, and to think about it later when my mind wasn’t so clouded.

          I finished my food and sat on my bed for a while, staring at the ceiling and the dust slowly moving along the current of air. Xena was perched upon the window sill, squawking slightly and scratching the wood. People were talking downstairs, first very quiet, and then loud. I heard a knocking on the front door and some male voices, and I was almost curious to go down and see what was happening, but I didnt want to get badgered.

          I heard somebody walk into the attic, anyways. Sophia peered her head into my room, and I looked up warily. She bit her lip and did a quick smile, and I sighed and stood up to talk to her.

          “The Headmaster is here,” she told me quietly. “With some guy named the Hunter. He wants to introduce everybody to him, along with you.”

          I looked downstairs, towards the voices. “Do I have to?”

          “Unfortunately.” Sophia looked downstairs resentfully. “The Hunter was staring at me really strangely. He wouldn’t stop looking at me, and then the Headmaster said your name, and he became really interested in you, Mary. So take that as a heads-up, in case he is some rapist or something.”

          “Alright.” I replied, nodding at her. I followed Sophia slowly downstairs, and when I turned the corner, I saw the Ambrose and the guest in the living room. The guest was sitting with his back to me, but I saw he had brown curly hair and he wore a black, long-sleeved shirt with an old, brown jacket.

          Sophia sat down onto the couch with Nikki and Bell. Ellie was probably helping clean up in the kitchen while her parents were in the living room. Abby was sitting by the fireplace, surveying the scene, while Ambrose stood by the window. He nodded at me in greeting as I walked up to the crowd. “Hello.”

          The guest- the Hunter, I’m guessing- seemed to perk up when he heard my voice. I remembered what Sophia had told me, but I pushed it away. I’ve probably met creepier people than ‘the Hunter.’

          I walked past the place where the guest was sitting and I took a seat by Abby on the fireplace, the left side of my face feeling immense warmth from the fire. From this area, Ambrose was on my right and the others were on my left, while the Hunter was right in front of me in a plush chair.

          The man in front of me looked like he was in his forties. He had brown eyes, a long nose, and a stubble forming into a small beard. There was something familiar in his eyes, as if I had knew him once, or somebody like him. Just like Sophia warned me about, he stared at me; like I was something unbelievable or a phenominal being.

          Ambrose cleared his throat, and spoke up. “This man is known as the Hunter. He is a warrior from many places, and he has been assigned to protect you.” Ambrose did a little smile. “Like a bodyguard.”

          “Him?” Bell looked stupified. “No big ogre dude or something?”

          “Don’t judge somebody by their looks, Danielle.” Ambrose replied. “This man has much experience. I figured that I should introduce you to him, just in case you find him nearby.”

          I looked back at the Hunter. He was still staring. He no longer seemed very interested in Sophia.

          “Well,” Ambrose clapped his hands cheerfully. “This wasn’t meant to be a long chat. Its late, and I have a few necromancers to talk to and rest to have, so I must go now.” Ambrose moved towards the door.

          “Wait-“ I stood up, and he turned to face me. “Sorry, but I’m wondering if I could ask for a few favors?”

          Ambrose raised his eyebrow. “Another one?”

          I bit my lip. “Um, yes. A few people rather close to me died. A girl named Natalia, and of course, my family.” The Hunter shifted uncomfortably, but I ignored it. “I want to have a funeral for Natalia, and to be able to see the gravestones of my family, except I dont know where the Necrolopis is.”

          Ambrose nodded. “I will set up something for Natalia, and Wolf or Elizabeth can take you to the Necrolopis on Saturday or Sunday. Now, I must go.”

          I stood there, slightly embarrassed, as Ambrose left. The Hunter bid his goodbyes as well, and left soon after.

          We then were ordered to go to sleep, which was something I did and didn’t want to do. I was tired, but was also stressed out for the next day.

          Falling asleep and waking up felt like a split second. We woke up early and ate breakfast, and Bell and I went to Balance class together as usual, and Xena had flied off somewhere instead of staying at Ellie’s house.

Today was a Friday, since we had gotten here on Tuesday night. In Myth class, Cyrus hadn’t even acknowledged me to see if I was alright or not. It was as if we’d never gone to the Oracle.

          A couple periods passed, and I officially think that I’ve gotten better at Archery and Swords. I managed to get many perfect shots and won a duel with a random person. We began to ride horses today instead of just learning about them, and I actually managed to canter, which was like a slow gallop on my part. It’s harder than it looks, but so much fun. It would have been easier if I hadn’t been holding a weapon, though, because I was afraid that I would stab the horse in the neck.

          Umbrata Venustus was different today. When my sisters and I walked in, there were no desks. At all. Instead, there were many, many cushions on the floor. We sat on these cushions awkwardly, wondering if this was the day of the ritual. The third day here- of course, Wolf had said that he couldn’t teach us unless we became one of the Umbrata Venustus first.

          Once we were settled in, Wolf stood in front of the class. “Now, I know you all must see that you are sitting upon cushions, not desks.” He began to pace. “This is, in fact, the day of the ritual of when you will become one with the darkness and world of the shadows. This is not a bad thing, unless you use it for bad reasons, of course.” Wolf winked. “Now, I believe there are some of you that do not believe this will be worth it. However, I will show you something.” Wolf took out a piece of parchment, and put it on his outstretched hand. We watched it for a few minutes, and I moved uncomfortably on the squishy material of the cushion I was sitting upon.     

          Suddenly, the paper moved. The corner of it folded by itself, as if an invisible hand had done it ever so quickly and perfectly. Another corner folded itself, and then all a sudden the paper was folding so fast that I couldnt count. In a second or two, the plain piece of paper was now a elegant swan. Wolf smiled and lifted his hand higher, and the paper swan flew off his hand gracefully and around the room, as if flying was easy.

          Students murmured in curiosity to themselves, and one of them was brave enough to ask if Wolf had done that. Wolf nodded, looking as if it was a piece of cake.

          Yeah, okay. I had to admit he was pretty cool. A freaking powerful and intelligent warrior who was a teacher and a big part of the Seraphina-Alleyen. Its not usual to meet somebody like that any other day.

          Now I knew why Ellie had been so determined to take us to him. Wolf as a student didn’t even seem to fit; I wondered how Ellie must have felt being in classes with him. He was definitely the teacher type.

          “Now, the ritual can end at different times for different people. For some people, it may be ten minutes. For others, it could be a few hours. The longest in record is three days, but I doubt any of you will take that long.”

          “What exactly are we going to do?” I asked Ellie quietly, who shrugged nervously. “Three days is a long time.”

          “I will tell you what your role is in the ritual, but you must not be alarmed. It is seriously important that you remember my words, to embrace the darkness. If you dont, you will not become one of the Umbrata Venustus.”

          I swallowed, throat feeling dry. I wasn’t sure I could do this at all.

          Wolf walked over to the back of the room, and came back with a heavy looking onyx chest. “Inside this chest is a majority of shadows. Harmless, really, but still extremely difficult to deal with. If you are to pass the ritual, you must embrace them.”

          A girl with red hair raised her hand, and Wolf nodded at her. “How do you know you’ve passed?”

          “Oh, I’ll know.” Wolf answered rather mischeviously. I took a shuddery breath, wondering if I trusted him enough to let shadows near me.

          But I’m an Angel... I would be able to take the shadows, especially since they are so harmless. But could I embrace them? Let them in?

          But Wolf quickly waved his hand over the lock of the chest, and I heard a sickening crack. Suddenly, the chest flew open with a crash and darkness poured out of it like smoke. Shadow-like figures shot out of the chest, and I felt my eyes being magically shut, so I could only see the darkness through my eyelids; however, my eyes had not shut before I saw one of the shadow figures leap into one of the mouths of the students. I was terrified at that point, and my lips were harshly teared apart from each other, and I felt a painful being move into my mouth and push itself down my throat.

          It was like sticking your head out of a fast moving car or carriage, making it difficult to breathe easily with air pushing into your face. Another way of explaining it was swallowing really hard air, if that made any sense.

          Then my mind went rather blank. It was as if I was standing in a world of darkness, or that I was blind, but somehow I felt as if nobody else was with me. There was no breeze, no sound, no anything. Yet, somehow, I felt as if the shadows were dancing around me, mocking me.

          I felt it inside of me. The darkness. I felt it and it made me sick, and I wondered if I was going to throw up. I rejected it, and started to fight it. It was pissing me off. I felt myself cough, and my body begin to shake. Then I remembered Wolf’s words, and I swallowed the shadows back into my body like they were some kind of food. I felt it moving throughout my body, inside my brain and through my heart, touching my very soul.

          I took a deep breath, and relaxed my mind. I was to let the shadows wander, and to take its power. If it did something bad to me, then I will fight it. I knew that if somebody was to know wisdom, I must be confronted with both evil and good within me.

          The shadow spread within me, sinking itself into my very skin. It traveled from the middle of inside me to the small of my back, where it seemed to gather. I felt a tickling sensation, and quick flash of burning.

          Then colors blasted back into my vision, bright and uncomfortable. I could see again. I felt as if I was going to vomit, and I was incredibly hot. My face was covered in sweat, and I could barely swallow without coughing. I stood up off my cushion, legs wobbly, and leaned against a the cool stone to catch a breath.

          Most of the class were already awake. Half of them were on one side of the classroom, the other on the other side. Bell, Nikki, Sophia, and Abby were standing near the door with about forty other students, while Ellie was still on her cushion, struggling through her ritual. She would cough violently at times, but then she would close her mouth tightly, keeping it inside. She was the Angel of love; perhaps the shadows didnt like that, which made it worse for her.

          “Mary, you took forty-five minutes.” Abby whispered to me. I stared at her in shock.

          “Forty-five minutes? It felt like five!” I hissed back in surprise. “How long did it take you?”

          “I was the first one to have passed.” Abby replied. She waved at the others to come forward, and they did hesitantly. “You’ve got to look at this. Everybody who passed has new tattoos. Wolf was right- we do get imprinted. He didn’t tell us how, because the tattoo itself is the shadow that was within us. The shadows imprinted us.

          I remembered the tingling sensation. “Its on the small of my back. I know it is. I felt it. Can you look?”

          I turned around and Abby lifted up the back of my shirt, and she gave a low whistle. “This is some tattoo. The shadow definitely imprinted you with your spirit animal, I can tell. It’s like a tribal version of the Pegasi. Rather beautiful, I can say.”

          I sighed in relief. “I passed...”

          “Yup. However, now everybody feels sick. Well, only us. Everybody else didn’t seem to mind as much...” Nikki explained quietly. “I think its just because we are Angels and such.”

          “Careful, Nikki.” I whispered. “We’re near a lot of people, remember?”

          “Quiet.” Wolf glared at us, as he stood at the front, watching the people going through their ritual. Despite his annoyance of us, I thought I caught a glimmer of pride in his eyes. We passed. “People are still testing.”

          “Oh look.” Sophia pointed at Ellie, who opened her eyes. She looked as terrible as I did- sweating, coughing, and sickly. She got up shakily and made her way over to us.

          “Did I pass?” She croaked out, holding her stomach uncomfortably. “If I didn’t, I’m going to kick some ass. That was awful.”

          “You did, so no worries.” Bell assured her. “It did feel like crap, though. It was like shoving solid air down your throat with no mercy, and then raping your insides.”

          “Thats another way to say it.”

          “Silence!” Wolf shot us another warning, and we stayed quiet for the next ten minutes. When the hour struck seven, we were released to go to our last class, even though some of the others weren’t done. Abby explained that many people had coughed up their shadows, therefore not embracing it and not becoming of of the Umbrata Venustus. Now I knew why I was tempted to cough.

          The tattoo was stinging when in Astrology, and I found it hard not to complain while talking to other students, such as Austin. Austin showed us some of his spells, which seemed to distract us for a while, but it honestly wasn’t enough.

          When we walked into the Defense classroom, the professor was still wearing his mask, and looked very similiar to what he looked like the day before yesterday. Strong, intimidating, and secretive. Nothing really had changed, although he didn’t seem to be paying any attention to me whatsoever. It’s as if nothing had happened- of course, nothing had happened, so why was I expecting him to react?

          Ellie was utterly shocked to find a tall, pretty girl having a deep conversation with him. We sat down rather uneasily, and I pulled out my notebook and quills as usual, while Ellie glared at the professor and the girl. It was when Ellie started growling slightly when I turned to her and hit her in the shoulder. “Stop it.”

          “He’s flirting. What the hell is wrong with him?” Ellie hissed. “I see it on him. He doesn’t mean it- but why in the worlds is he doing it?”

          “Does it matter?” I groaned, fanning myself.

          “Yes!” Ellie exclaimed, frustrated. “The girl is pretty, he can tell. She has neat, brunette hair with unique blue eyes that he likes. Maybe it reminds him of somebody. She has a fake tan and her leg armor is way too short for his taste, which reminds him that she is rather slutty, which he doesn’t like. She has freckles, which he thinks is cute, but it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t like her because she’s trying too hard.”

          I gazed at Ellie in amazement. “How can you tell all that from all the way over here?”

          “Honey, I’m an expert.” Ellie put her hand on my shoulder assuringly. “It’s all in his body movements.”

          “Can you really see all that?” Bell’s eyes narrowed. “What is the girl thinking?”

          Ellie squinted at the girl, studying her. “She has a huge crush on him. She keeps looking at his muscles and she wants to run her hands through his hair, because she keeps moving her hands. She finds him mysterious and impressive, but I doubt she would like him if he wasn’t so alpha-male.”

          I tried not to look at the professor and the girl, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt. I felt as if I had been played, but then I opened my notebook and dipped my quill in ink, and pushed the thoughts away. I didn’t care.

          “Maybe I can tell who he is if I looked at his aura.” Abby suggested half-heartedly. “But its really difficult, because there are so many people everywhere. It’s like your head is being hammered a dozen times the moment I turn it on, because there’s so many flashing lights if you do it too fast.”

          “Nah, let’s keep him mysterious.” Bell smiled mischeviously. “I like a little secret.”

          “Bell, you need a boyfriend.” I murmured, smiling slightly.

          “I know.” Bell sighed, staring off into the distance. “But I’d never be able to keep a proper relationship.”

          “We can tell.”

          “Well, it’s not even a huge surprise that the sexy professor is flirting with other pretty girls, anyways.” Bell explained simply, also taking out her notebook. “Men are born between a woman's legs and spend the rest of their lives trying to get back in between them.”

“I never got why they do that, you know. Why women are so appealing like that.” Ellie sighed in an exhausted manner.  

“Why? You got to be kidding me, right?” Bell asked, looking dumbfounded at Ellie. “It’s because home is where the fun is, there's no place like home in a guy’s mind.”

“Ew. Just ew.” I scrunched up my nose from the perverted conversation. “Can’t we focus on learning for the next, well, hour or so?”

“Fine.” Bell smirked, and the others giggled.

          The class started after the bell rang, and the professor ordered the girl to sit down. She giggled and rushed over to her seat, where a whole bunch of giggly girls whispered to each other excitedly. For some reason, I found myself wanting to stab them in the ass with my quill.

          The professor began talking about certain strategies that had been used in wars that had been successful, such as amounts and types of weapons, and how much you could do with just your hands, which reminded me painfully of the other day. You did a lot more than fighting with your hands that day, buddy.

          Maybe the professor is just a player. Maybe I’m just stupid and naive, and I overreact. Whatever it is, I never particularly liked it.

          The class ended quickly, and we began packing up, However, when I reached over to grab my quill, I accidentally knocked over the bottle of ink, sending black ink to ooze over the desk and all over the floor. “Ah, damn it.” I hissed, having nothing to wipe it up with. “Does anybody have a towel?”

          “I can help you dry it, but it will leave a stain.” Bell offered weakly. “The others and I want to go because we’re starving, though. Think you can catch up?”

          “Yeah, I can.” I sighed, disappointed. Then I looked at the emptying classroom, to the professor, and back at Bell. “I’ll be alone with him. Please don’t leave.”

          Bell glanced at the professor and back at me, actually stifling a laugh. I wanted to slap her then. “I’m sorry, but this is just too perfect. Don’t come back home too late.” She winked and then snapped her fingers, and the water within the ink instantly dried up, leaving the rest to only wipe up. She turned on her heels and walked out the door cheerfully, her bleach blonde hair swishing in the slight breeze outside.

          The classroom was officially empty, and the professor was doing something random. I didnt look up to see what he was doing, for in fear to find that he would be staring at me or something. So, I wet a piece of parchment since there were no towels, and began to wipe up the dried up ink mess. It actually worked pretty well, although I wished I had a proper towel so it would have been done sooner.

          I finished, and began packing up my stuff. I thought I was off the hook until I found the teacher walking over to me, and I could feel his vibe of curiosity even through his mask. He stopped right next to me, leaning against one of the desks. “Need help?”

          “No, I just spilled my ink. It’s cleaned up now.” I croaked out awkwardly, wondering what to say. I froze, and then slowly put my notebook inside my satchel. “Why do you wear a mask?”

          He looked as though he was in deep thought. “Defense can be a harsh class, therefore the professor teaching it could be judged harshly as well. I’d rather have a more secretive identity so I would not be judged outside the classroom for the class’s difficulties.”

          It sounded more like a lie to me, but I put the rest of my stuff hastily into my bag and swung it over my shoulder. I turned to him, wondering what else to ask. “How long have you taught?”

          “Random questions, I see.”

          “Well, it’s not like I know anybody here.” I walked passed him, wondering if that was a good enough excuse.

          “I’ve taught here for about a year. Why?”

          “I was just wondering. You seem... Familiar.” I turned my head, trying to meet his eyes, but they were too shadowed by the mask. “Do you think we’ve met?”

          Something in the air changed, making it stifling and awkward. He, however, did not change at all. “I’ve met a lot of people.”

          And that was all he said.

          I nodded, wanting to get out of here. “Goodbye, professor.”

          “Goodbye, Mary.”

          It was after I walked out of the classroom, far away from him, when I realized that I never told him my name.